News

Rod Lyall 18/06/2023

Two victories in their home triple-header in the Amsterdamse Bos on Saturday took VRA Amsterdam to the top of the T20 Cup table, their superior net run rate enabling them to leapfrog unbeaten Punjab Rotterdam and previous leaders HCC, who suffered their first defeat at the hands of HBS.

The journey to the Bos proved deeply disappointing for Voorburg, whose batters were twice unable to reach three figures and who lost both to VRA and to Excelsior ’20 Schiedam.

On a pitch which caused batters problems all day, VRA could thank skipper Johan Smal’s 40 for the fact that they were able to reach 113 for five, Jack Balbirnie and Mitch Lees chipping in with 20 not out and 23 not out in the closing overs, after Sajjad Kamal had put the hosts on the back foot with his three for 13.

But that proved to be plenty as Voorburg, after reaching 43 for one, fell apart under the pressure from VRA’s spinners, Udit Nashier taking three for 19 and Leon Turmaine two for 28 as they collapsed to 94 all out.

Once the openers Nehaan Gigani and Musa Ahmad had gone, only Laurens Boissevain showed any sign of being able to cope with the conditions, top-scoring with 23.

It was a similar story when Voorburg took on Excelsior, Gigani, Musa and Boissevain again being the only three to reach double figures as their side battled its way to 97 for nine; all but one of the wickets fell to Excelsior’s spinners, Roel Verhagen – never previously suspected of having off-spinning tendencies – leading the way with three for 25.

Whatever terrors the pitch may have held for Voorburg’s batters did not apply to their opponents, Michael Hart making a 45-ball 52 and Lorenzo Ingram remaining not out on 31 as Excelsior completed an eight-wicket victory with five and a half overs to spare.

The highest total of the series was then posted by VRA in the final game, Luke Scully (60) and Tyler van Luin (22) putting on 95 for the first wicket before both were removed by Umar Baker.

VRA were unable to take full advantage of this outstanding start, however, Verhagen claiming four for 8 in three overs, and it took cameos from Lees and Turmaine to get them up to 149 for eight.

Verhagen then contributed with the bat as well, making 38 before becoming the first of five wickets for Balbirnie, who in a remarkable spell conceded only 14 runs as he reduced Excelsior from 69 for one to 90 for six.

There was no way back from their for the Schiedammers, and they were eventually dismissed for just 116.

At Het Schootsveld, meanwhile, Salland’s miserable run continued, as they lost first to Sparta 1888 by six wickets and then, even more heavily, to VOC Rotterdam by nine wickets.

Their day began promisingly enough, with Talha Ahmed Khan and Venkat Ganesan, the latter back from German duties, putting on 45 for the first wicket, and then Ganesan and Finn Raxworthy took them to 82 for two.

Once Ganesan had gone for 40, however, Raxworthy soon following for 30, the innings fell apart, the last seven wickets falling for just 19 runs; Joost Kroesen collected three for 17 and Faisal Bashir and Prithvi Balwantsingh picked up two apiece as Salland were all out for 118.

The home side’s bowlers fought hard all the way when Sparta replied, but Sam Ferguson’s 51 was the mainstay of the innings, and when he was finally dismissed by Victor Lubbers, only eight were needed for victory, Khalid Ahmadi hitting the winning six with an over to spare.

Ganesan again top-scored when Salland faced VOC, making a 32-ball 42, and although the middle and lower order again struggled, the total of 143 for nine was a little more challenging than they had achieved against Sparta.

Salland’s hopes were briefly raised when Francois Fourie departed early, but VOC had introduced a secret weapon in the form of Peter Recordon, a Delft University lecturer who has plenty of club cricket experience in England, and he never looked in any trouble and he and Lane Berry proceeded to knock off the runs in double-quick time.

Recordon finished with an unbeaten 64 from 47 balls, with ten fours and a six, while Berry’s 63 not out came from 42 balls with eight fours and two sixes.

With not only Sparta but also HBS Craeyenhout posting their first wins, Salland now face an uphill battle to avoid relegation, at least in this format.

The HBS win, all the more notable because it inflicted a first defeat on HCC, began sensationally, as Nic Adendorff and Julian de Mey reduced their opponents to 2 for three in the space of 14 deliveries.

Only Ratha Alphonse, and for a time Jonathan Vandiar, were able to resist a rampant HBS attack, much more experienced and incisive than that they have fielded in recent games, and it was only Alphonse’s unbeaten 55 which enabled his side to reach 121 for seven.

Hidde Overdijk hit back with the wickets of the dangerous Reece Mason and Tobias Visée, and when Tayo Walbrugh, perhaps a little unfortunately, was trapped leg-before by Daniel Doram, it seemed as if HCC might be in with a chance.

But Tim Drummond steadied the ship with 37, and with Navjit Singh and Adendorff in the middle order HBS secured the five-wicket win with almost three overs remaining.

Earlier, Punjab Rotterdam had extended their unbeaten run to four matches, holding on to withstand a spirited challenge from ACC, whom they had set to make 223 to win.

Punjab’s powerful top six had run up 222 for four, Shoaib Minhas leading the way with 42 before three Zulfiqars took over; Asad made an unbeaten, 41-ball 72, while Sikander contributed 41 and Rehmat 32 not out.

Having seen how close HBS had come against them last week, ACC began their chase in top gear, Rahil Ahmed, Shreyas Potdar, Thomas Hobson and Anis Raza all making valuable contributions, but Sulaiman Tariq hit back with three for 43, and although Mahesh Hans made a gallant, 19-ball 42, the innings ended on 207 for seven, 18 runs short of their target.

Rod Lyall 15/06/2023

Compression seems to be the name of the game these days, and incredibly, just a fortnight after they started, most clubs will pass the halfway point this weekend in their gallop towards the finals day of the restyled T20 Cup.

It will be VRA Amsterdam’s turn to play host to a triple-header, taking on Voorburg in the early game at the Bos, and then meeting Excelsior ‘20 in the day’s final game, with their two opponents playing one another as the meat in the sandwich.

As two of the four teams currently on four points, VRA and Voorburg will know that every win is vital if they are to be in the mix for the finals day on 15 July, while Excelsior, one victory behind them, need to make up ground on either or both if they are to have any chance of recovering what has been a pretty disappointing season for the Schiedam club.

VRA and Voorburg are, of course, among the sides that are suffering most from the absence of the national squad; numerically, the Amsterdammers’ losses are only half those of their guests, but Voorburg demonstrated last week that they have enviable strength in depth, with youngsters like Nirav Kulkarni, Tom de Leede and Floris and Cedric de Lange able to step into the breach left by the club’s six internationals.

VRA were scarcely tested by Salland last Saturday, but they too are not without young talent, Aaditt Jain, Udit Nashier, Zamaan Khan and Adam Constant slotting into the side and keen to make the most of the opportunity.

Excelsior, on the other hand, while untroubled by such considerations, are still struggling to find the most effective combination, and their morale will not have been helped by their defeat by Punjab on Saturday after they had reached an extremely promising 160 for two.

These look like three pretty even contests, but the momentum is with Voorburg, and it would be surprising if they didn’t leave the Bos with at least one win to show for their day’s efforts, and quite possibly two.

Their mid-table rivals both face challenging away matches of rather different kinds: ACC will go to Het Zomercomplex to take on unbeaten Punjab Rotterdam, while VOC Rotterdam will head east to Deventer on Saturday to play Salland.

Punjab are already looking like very likely semi-finalists despite the loss of Saqib Zulfiqar: his brother Sikander is a proven matchwinner with both bat and ball, and Shoaib Minhas is a reliable runmaker at the top of the order.

ACC rely heavily on Thomas Hobson, especially in the absence of Heino Kuhn, but Anis Raza has hit a rich vein of form with the bat, and the attack, if not particularly incisive, has plenty of variation.

In the absence of three of their four German internationals Salland are increasingly seeming to be headed for relegation, possibly in both formats, and it will take a greatly-improved team effort if they are to have any serious chance of upsetting either Sparta or VOC.

That said, Sparta themselves are missing spearhead Ahsan Malik from their attack, and although Mudassar Bukhari bowled testingly against Voorburg last week Malik and Khalid Ahmadi’s wicket-taking skills make a big difference to their efforts.

With their three overseas players, though, they are a better side than their none-from-three record suggests, and they will start as favourites to break their duck in Deventer on Saturday.

Having twice beaten VOC in 50-over matches since their arrival in the top flight, Salland will be especially keen to extend that run when they meet them in the shorter format, and the Rotterdammers, after a thumping defeat by Voorburg, have not looked wholly convincing in their two wins since.

But with Lane Berry, Tim de Kok and Arnav Jain in their batting line-up, Asief Hoseinbaks in wicket-taking form, Jelte Schoonheim a never-to-be-discounted force with both bat and ball, and Mussayab Jamil slotting usefully in, VOC remain strong, and their T20 record is second to none.

Winless like Sparta and Salland, HBS Craeyenhout will be at home to unbeaten leaders HCC in Saturday’s remaining match.

The Lions are certainly riding high and will start as favourites to maintain their winning streak, but HBS have been more than a little unfortunate in their four defeats so far.

Their problem, obviously, is keeping their opponents below 200, something they have failed to do in all three matches, but the return of Ferdi Vink and Navjit Singh to their ranks, though it did not ultimately change the outcome against VOC, could if it continues bring a measure of solidity to a young and worryingly fragile attack.

With 773 runs and four centuries across the two formats Tayo Walbrugh is the leading runscorer in the country, but he’s not enough on his own to beat HCC, and even sterling support from Azzam Khan could not see the side home against a workmanlike ACC bowling unit.

Against that, HCC have Alphonse, Staal, Gorlee, Vandiar and Hidde Overdijk capable of making quick runs, and an attack which even without Clayton Floyd looks sharp.

This week’s predictions: Voorburg, Sparta; Voorburg, Punjab; VOC; HCC; VRA.

This article was amended on 17 June to reflect the fact that Sparta and VOC will play each other not on Sunday, 18 June, but on Thursday, 22 June.